Unless Congress acts, on July 1, the interest rate for 158,718 student loan borrowers in Massachusetts will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. According to an issue brief released today by MASSPIRG, the rate increase translates into an additional $974 in debt per student, per loan.

"It's time to get more 'cops' on the beat," commented Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of MASSPIRG, which is collecting signatures on petitions asking DEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell to step up enforcement of the waste bans. "Garbage is a big business in Massachusetts, and it's clear that landfills, incinerators, waste haulers and big waste generators are flaunting these regulations." Although there is significant evidence of large scale violations of these waste bans, the DEP has only issued a handful of penalties over the past few years.

The meningitis outbreak, which was traced back to the Framingham- based New England Compounding Center, was simply the latest and deadliest in a long line of errors and risky practices by compounding pharmacies across the country.